Networking, Like Boxing, Is About The Connection

Absolutely the fight of the century!There hasn’t been an undisputed* heavyweight champion in boxing since 1999. Now we have one – Oleksandr Usyk!

(*Undisputed – fighter has all four championship belts in a weight class.)

In fact, Usyk defeated another undefeated fighter, Tyson Fury, all 6’9” and 270 pounds of him. Fury was slightly favored because of his massive size but Usyk is Ukrainian, and it felt like he had an entire nation (perhaps most of the world) behind him.

I picked Usyk to win because, given his high boxing IQ and technical ability, I thought he would make more and better connections. And he did!

Here are some ways you can make more and better connections to grow your business and win the big fight.

Make NEW Connections
Simply make outreaches on LinkedIn. Do it personally, tailor your message, and make connecting with you a potential win-win.

Reconnect with Past Connections
Again, you can connect on LinkedIn, or it may be better to email, text, or pick up the phone (fancy that!) if you already have a relationship.

Ask for Specific Introductions
All too often, we don’t get what we don’t ask for. And even more often, we don’t ask. Who do you want to meet and who can make that happen?

Join Business Networking Groups
There are a ton of them out there, many are virtual, including my group – THE Networking Group. By joining a group, you have a built-in mechanism to meet more people. If you’re a good communicator, you’ll meet more of the right people.

Participate in Professional Associations
Associations tend to focus on attracting those that are aligned with a specific industry or profession. Join one that attracts your target market!

Establish Your Very Own Regular Meeting
Zoom makes this easy. Imagine what would happen if you scheduled a meeting every month, or twice a month, and you simply invited the right people to network? It’s interesting when you always have something to invite people to.

Think about it.

If you only made 5 connections a week, using any one of these approaches, that’s 20 connections a month. Do the math.

How many connections do you want to make a month?

Although these ideas may not be anything new, they’re not easy to implement consistently.

Unless you have a target market, know who you need to speak with, have a set time that you do your marketing, approach your network collaboratively, and have a specific process to follow, these ideas will be easy NOT to do.

What gets measured gets done.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WAY TO MAKE MORE CONNECTIONS?